Pristina | |
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State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 145149 |
Pristina (UK: , US: , Albanian pronunciation: [pɾiʃˈtinə] (listen); Albanian: Prishtina or Prishtinë, Serbian: Приштина / Priština) is the capital of Kosovo and the seat of the eponymous municipality and district. Its population is predominantly Albanian-speaking constituting the second-largest such city in Europe, after Tirana. The city is located in the northeastern section of Kosovo in a relatively flat plain close to the Gollak mountains.
During the Paleolithic Age, what is now the area of Pristina was involved by the Vinča culture. It was home to several Illyrian and Roman people at the classical times. King Bardyllis brought various tribes together in the area of Pristina in the 4th century BC, establishing the Dardanian Kingdom. The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient city of Ulpiana, that was considered one of the most important Roman cities in the Balkan peninsula. Between the 5th and the 9th century the area was part of the Byzantine Empire. In the middle of the 9th century it was ceded to the First Bulgarian Empire. In the early 11th century it fell under Byzantine rule and was included into a new province called Bulgaria. Between the late 11th and middle of the 13th century it was ceded several times to the Second Bulgarian Empire.
Bechar | |
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State | Béchar |
Country | Algeria |
Capital | |
Population | 165627 |
Postcode | 08000 |
Béchar (Arabic: بشار) is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.1%. The commune covers an area of 5,050 square kilometres (1,950 sq mi).Before coal was found here in 1907, Béchar was a small populated town prior to its annexation to French Algeria on 1904. It has then thrived on the activity of the coal mines until petroleum production seized the market.